


Within the Grotto

by SV_Writer



Category: Original Work
Genre: Forced Pregnancy, Lovecraftian, Lovecraftian Monster(s), Other, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:27:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24263599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SV_Writer/pseuds/SV_Writer
Summary: Arriving within the dank and foul town of Frenoaks, you can feel that something is brewing.Something is different about the town. The old people. The atmosphere. The very earth.There is something off about it...And you can't even explain why you felt the need to come here...
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 19





	Within the Grotto

_NOTE: This isn't really a warning, cause I don't think this story has anything particularly extreme. Its just a rather enigmatic story that would probably raise more questions than it answers. Its different from my regular stuff, but I still hope you give it a chance and enjoy it; Please let me know what you think of it!_

***

  
  
The town of Frenoaks had a deep unpleasant smell to it when I arrived; It was a dead smell, like the breath of someone who had just eaten rotten fish. The humidity was unbearable to say the least; It was as if the air around me as frozen, despite the fact that the sea was a mere stone’s throw away.

I didn’t like that I was in this foul town.

As soon as I arrived I made my way to the small motel; The only motel within this blighted area. Like every other building within the town, it was made a combination of stone and wood. The stone was a dark, damp grey covered in decades of grime, muck and filth that was brought in by the air and sea, while the wood was verging on rotten as moss and fungi sprouted from the smallest pores threatening to cause it to snap under its own weight at any moment.

The Woman at the counter was fat and old, but at the same time rather ageless. She moved slowly as if she wasn’t moving through air but molasses. It was somewhat disturbing in its own way.

“Do you have any open rooms?” I asked her.

She didn’t respond verbally, but she nodded slowly. Each nod released a heavy creaking crack that made me wince in pain.

“…I’ll need a room for around a week.”

“… 10 fer a night… Payment upfront…” The Old Woman’s voice was harsh and dry; I wanted to tell to drink a glass of water before I silently assumed she would probably end up drinking salt water.

I made the payment quickly and she handed me a rusty old key to a room; A small, damp place that struck me as the worst possible place to stay. Black mould and moss decorated the room like Christmas lights and the bed-mattress was so soaked with sea water that I wondered if it wasn’t actually a sponge. Somehow, even where there was no breeze to speak off, the room felt like it was caught in a storm.

An overall awful place. I hated it.

I left the room without unpacking my smallish suitcase (My suitcase was probably the best place to leave my clothes at any rate; The closet and bathroom looked like they were closed ecosystems in themselves.) but I did take my small backpack, as I began to wander through the entire town.

The people of the town had a dead look to them; Like the Woman at the Counter, they moved slowly, like the air around them was weighing them down, but they didn’t seem to be troubled by it. And again, like the Woman at the Counter, they were all old. So very old.

The entire town was ancient; Like a breeze would cause it to crumble away… Perhaps that was why the air seemed so stagnant.

“Oi!”

My head turned when I heard the dry, gruff voice call to me.

“Yer new around here, ain’t ya?” the voice belonged to a Man; A fisherman by the looks of his attire. He was sitting in front of a small greasy looking pub with a large mug in his hand, filled to the brim with a dark, brown and foamy liquid.

I felt hesitant to answer his question, but there was no point in hiding obvious facts so I nodded.

“What brings a lass like you here?”

“…Family business.”

“Issat the case?” He chuckled drily before pulling a large pipe from his pocket and proceeding to suck on it. The bowl of the pipe gave off a dull orange glow before he let out a large puff of blue-purple smoke, “Who’dya lose?”

The question startled me, “…My brother.”

“Hmm…” The Man sipped his drink carefully and for the first time I noticed his eyes; Dark and brooding as if they held some dangerous knowledge, but shining with interest at the same time. And I felt uncertain, “…Whaddya think of Frenoaks, eh?”

“…Its terrible.”

“Isn’t it?” He let out a sharp bark of laugh, “But it matches its nature. Frenoaks is an old town… Older than it remembers.”

“Is that so?”

He nodded slowly, “Oh yes… If you’re not leaving now… then you should get comfortable here.” He pointed down the road, “You’ll find Missy’s store down there. She’ll get you anything you need.”

“I need?” The statement felt odd because I didn’t need anything in particular.

The Man didn’t bother clarifying his statement; He just downed his drink and stumbled back into the pub. He was clearly among the town drunks, for I was certain there were plenty of them in this god-forsaken place.

But I decided to listen to his words.

The only store I could find in the direction he pointed was a general store; It only seemed to be carrying a handful of items. Fish, A few staple grains, some old-looking vegetables and fruits, Old clothes and other bits and pieces.

The Woman managing the store was the first semi-decent looking person I had seen in this town; Not to mention see seemed a few years younger than everyone else. She gave me a gentle smile as I walked into the store, “Why, hello sweetie. How lovely to see a new face around here!”

I wished I could’ve been as happy as her, “…You already know about me…”

She laughed lightly, “Oh, yes. As you could imagine, we don’t get many visitors here in Frenoaks. We’re like a tight family here; We know everyone, so when someone new arrives… we all know.”

The words unnerved me to say the least, “How often do new people come?”

“Never, sweetie. Never.” She spoke without losing her smile.

“…Are you Missy?”

“Indeed, I am.” She bowed her head lightly, “I assume, old Matthew sent you to me?”

“If you’re talking about the old drunk, then-”

Before I could finish my sentence, Missy walked out from behind the counter with a thin bit of cord in her hand and began to use it measure my body, “Hmm… You’ve got some long limbs sweetie. They make you look graceful, but I wonder if I have anything in stock that’ll fit you just right… Maybe some of the skirts have hems I could alter…”

The unexpected action startled me and I quickly jumped back in a panic, “Hey, what are you-”

Once again, Missy interrupted me by pulling me back towards her and wrapping the cord around my hips, “Hmm… You’re quite slender… Yes, I think I should be able to find something that could fit you…”

“Would you-! What are you doing?!”

“Measuring, sweetie.”

I rolled my eyes, “For the love of-! Why?”

Missy paused and looked up at me with a soft smile, “…Oh, its nothing, sweetie… Tell me, how long are you here for?”

“…I… I’m leaving as soon as my work here is done.”

“And what work is that?”

I scowled at her question, “…It doesn’t concern you, does it?”

Missy gave me a light smirk, “Well, I said we’re all family here, aren’t we? Come now, what did you lose? What brought you here?”

The confidence in her tone made me blink, “How did you…?”

“…It must have been something very important… No… Someone?”

I swallowed softly before nodding, “…My brother…”

“I see.” Missy nodded slowly, “What happened to him?”

“He… He went missing. How did you know-?”

She gestured around lightly, “Frenoaks is a… How should I put this… When something is lost, there’s always someone to look for it. Things float away, roll into the dark and shadows or drop into the ground and slowly sink… One way or the other, if the lost things aren’t found, they end up here… And they set up roots. And sometimes, they’re so attached that someone will come to look for them here… And then they stay…”

I didn’t say anything. What could I say?

Then Missy smiled, “You look skinny. You should eat more, sweetie! Here-” She turned around and pulled a few small boxes of the shelves, “I think these will be a nice snack for you during tea! Why don’t you enjoy them?”

“Oh, no. I’m fine-”

“Nonsense!” Missy’s smile widened to an uncomfortable degree as she shoved the boxes into a small paper bag and forced the bag into my hands, “I suspect you’re going to need them soon…”

That smile was disturbing to say the least. It didn’t feel like it belonged on a human. The only reaction I could muster was a weak nod as I took the bag and rushed out of the store.

Missy called out after me, “Oh, and I’d suggest coming to the beach at dusk. You might find what you’re looking for!”

*

The beach was nothing like a tropical beach. The beach of Frenoaks was studded with massive chunks of sharp white rock They were whiter than polished marble; I suspected that the sea constantly washing over them had acted as a sort of natural polish, but it was rather remarkable. I had never seen stone so clean.

It made me wonder why the residents of the town didn’t use the white stone in their building, instead of sticking with the mossy and crumbling black basalt. It would certainly make their town look better.

I sat down at the old pier that housed a handful of small fishing vessels; The pier itself was as green as a forest and it stood out like a sore thumb against the damp, grey sand and white stone. The boats were small things that looked like they belonged in some bygone era, but somehow fit the town with its unnaturally old people.

With nothing to do, I decided to examine the contents of the bag that Missy forced on me; The boxes seemed to be various kinds of biscuits. Not the good kinds either. These were the simple ones that had barely any flavour and only were really only good for dunking into tea or coffee.

…Missy did say these would be perfect to snack on with tea…

I shoved the eatables into my bag before pulling out my Brother’s diary. Or at least, I suspected it was a diary. I couldn’t actually read it. The writing within it was more of a mixture of odd symbols that made no sense to someone like me, who only knew one language.

It was somewhat disheartening that this was the only thing in my possession that my brother had owned; Something I didn’t understand. And yet it was fitting. I had thought I knew my brother before he vanished. I thought he cared about me and loved me. I thought he fawned over me.

The day he vanished was like any other. Except when I woke up, he just wasn’t in his room. It was the first time I had seen his room. It was such a strange room. So many books with nothing inside them. Dozens and dozens of rocks of all kinds of shapes and sizes. Lose pages decorated the walls, on each of them were hand-drawn pictures of anatomy; Human, Animal, Plant and… things that I didn’t know. Twisted things.

My parents disowned him, but I couldn’t. I sobbed into my pillow wondering why he left us.

The only attempt to answer to my question was in the form of his diary; it was sent to me as a package in the mail with no letter or explanation. All I knew was that my brother wanted me to have it.

Years went by and I began to dream of my brother. I saw him doing so many things. Wandering deserts of sand, fire and ice. Sneaking through jungles. Exploring and studying unearthly ruins.

The last dream I had of him was of him standing in a grotto with a peaceful smile on his face. The entrance to the grotto was lined with polished white rock…

I left home a few months after that with everything I could carry. The idea of my brother was eating at my mind and I couldn’t do anything else but think of him. I wandered for weeks. I needed to find him, understand what he wanted and why he was doing this. Why he was haunting my mind?

I winced as the spray of the sea hit my face. It felt unnatural without wind. I put his diary back into my bag as I realized dusk had settled over the town.

It was dark, with the sun only just sinking down below the horizon, illuminating the foul town with its warm, pink-orange glow. It was unusually pink. It made the town feel a little more picturesque.

The beach was silent except for the soft waves that lapped onto the beach, dropping and pulling the grey sand as it saw fit. The waters were cold.

The fires crackled gently. Around each fire there must have been at least six people. Seeing all the people was rather jarring. I saw Motel owner and Matthew and Missy. I saw other people too. People whom I had only given passing glances too.

They didn’t seem old right now. They looked ancient, but they felt different. Invigorated. Strong. Focused.

Missy silently gestured for me to come closer and watch.

I saw the people of Frenoaks slowly begin to sway around their fires. It wasn’t a dance. They just swayed… Like twigs in a breeze. Like they were part of the earth and moved in time with the breath of every living thing on Earth… And beyond…

I swallowed and blinked once and felt the sun descend and the waters rise, gently lapping around my ankles.

The tide came in gently and began to lap at the fires with gentle sputters, but the swaying didn’t stop. We continued to move gently in the non-existent wind. I watched as the fires winced from the water, but roar back as the waves receded, only repeat the entire cycle again, each time growing weaker and each time more smoke rose from them crumbling coals.

So much smoke. It was suffocating. I blinked once more, lost in the darkness of night and the thickness of smog, unable to make out what was up and down. I stepped forward, trying desperately to understand my environment.

I felt the water gently wash over my feet and I began to follow the edge. I knew which way the town was supposed to be from the water… If I followed it, I’d be able to find…

A cliff. A massive stone cliff made of gleaming white stone, stained with smoke and pockmarked from erosion. Thick grooves ran through the rock, as if carved by invisible rivers of a dead era, flowing into a deep and dark tunnel…

The tunnel was silent even as the waves crashed against its mouth; No echoes. No sound at all, as if it was a void that trapped everything inside it; A grotto that held emptiness…

The Grotto was dark, descending down into the earth. The walls were smooth and rough; Massive stalactites and stalagmites carefully reached for each other…

I felt stagnant water around me feet; Fresh water pooling as the grotto slowly levelled out. I blinked once.

…A woman.

She looked thin and sickly; Emaciated in some ways. Dressed in a torn and withered cloak, she was smiling at me while massaging her grotesque belly.

Her belly… It made me shudder. It was large. Unnatural and wrong. It wasn’t smooth like a regular pregnancy. It was lumpy and the lumps… seemed to move, ever so slowly…

“S… Sister…”, Her voice was dry and weak. But the voice was familiar.

The voice made me hesitate and frown, “…Brother?”

“Sister… It’s been so long…”

“What… What happened to you?”

“I’m so sorry… I had to leave you when I did… After all, He called for me…”

“He?” I frowned, “He, who?”

“He… He always liked our family… Our ancestors… they were loved by Him…” The Woman took a few steps closer to me, the water splashing softly at her feet, “But… But some of them were afraid…”

“Afraid?”

“Yes… Afraid… Our Parents knew… They didn’t tell us…” A soft scraping sound began to echo around us, “They didn’t understand… But He talked to me… and I understood… and you will too…”

“I… I don’t…” I swallowed, trying to walk back.

“He loves us… Don’t you see? He’s wanted us… for so long… I left when… when he called… and you… Now, you’ve come… When he called for you…”

I shook my head, “I came for you…”

“He wanted us to meet…” The Woman reached out slowly, “He’s done so much for me…”

“Wha… What happened to you?”

“He changed me… So… So I could accept his love…” Her hands lowered and gripped at her stomach again, the lumps moving once more, “I… I carry his heir… And… And you will too…”

My skin grew cold, “N… No! Get away!”

“You… You’ll understand…” She reached out and took hold of my wrist, “Once you see…”

I saw.

Fire.

Ash.

A world in rubble.

A world of flesh and blood.

A world of pain.

I screamed; A scream of terror. My knees grew weak and I fell into the water, my body trembling.

“D… Don’t you see?”

Everyone was dead.

“…Our children were kings… and Queens of the… the new world… And world beyond…”

We were slaves.

“Mothers… bearing and feeding our children…” The Woman, who had been my brother let out a soft moan of joy, “Is… Is there nothing greater?”

I couldn’t say anything. Tears leaked from my eyes as my words were reduced to silent gibbers. I could see movement behind her. Something scraping along the stone. Something massive and strong. Something I couldn’t understand.

“He… He’s here…”

“No… No please…”

I could feel it get closer; The pressure was so magnificent. I could feel my brain leaking from my skull as I sunk lower into the earth, desperately trying to avoid this Goliath.

“Come, Sister… Our God-Husband awaits…”

  
  
  


I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t breathe. I was being swallowed whole. It was around me. It was inside me.

It was…

I couldn’t breathe.

I opened my mouth and felt the cold water rush and air flood out. I blinked and saw the cold, harsh sea water around me. I flailed wildly, feeling my fingers break through the water surface before my head followed, letting me gasp for breath.

The world around me was bright; The sun having finished hiding in the night and rising up gently. Shore was only a short distance away. There were no cliffs around me anywhere.

The grey sands of the beach were already warm and they were comforting to my frozen skin as I collapsed in an exhausted heap. I felt so hungry and tired…

…My bag was still on back.

Moving as little as I could, I tugged my bag off and opened it; My brother’s diary was ruined entirely by the sea water. The waxy-cardboard biscuit boxes seemed to falling apart as well, but the individual plastic packets underneath were protecting the contents within, setting a smile on my face as I tore into them.

The biscuits were simple; Sweet and good.

I let myself go limp after breathing in the contents of one box. I remained that way for a few moments, blankly staring out into the world. My body felt cold. I could feel it shake softly.

My hand drifted over my swollen belly. I shouldn’t have been like that. Something was wrong.

“There you are, Sweetie!”

I glanced up and winced at the sunlight before my eyes adjusted; Missy was there standing above me with her characteristic smile, “We were all looking for you.”

“Uh…” I tried to speak, but no words would come out of my mouth.

“Shh… Its alright. Come on.” She knelt down and carefully helped me sit up, “There we go… Good girl. Now… Do you remember your name?”

I stared at her. And I blinked dumbly.

“You don’t need to speak. Just nod if you remember your name.”

I blinked again and trembled weakly as my hands carefully wrapped over my belly. A wave of panic and fear began to crawl over me.

“No? That’s a shame…” Her smile shrank slightly before she placed one hand over my belly, “But I suppose this makes it worth it.”

I frowned in confusion; My hands tightened over my belly. I could something… I had to know…

“It’s a gift!” Missy laughed lightly, “From Him… Oh, how he must have loved you, sweetie…”

I shook my head. I couldn’t understand.

Missy’s expression grew dark as her smile widened, placing both of her hands over my belly, her fingers dancing over the surface in the most unsettling manner. Her eyes grew wide and her smile grew hungry, “We’ve all waited for so long for this…”

I felt like I was about to burst into tears.

“But.” Missy’s face relaxed as she reached out and patted my head lightly, “I shouldn’t get ahead of myself.”

I just blinked.

“Come. Let’s get you some new clothes… I have a few that I think would look perfect on you! You’d look like the cutest thing with this” She chuckled as she poked my belly lightly and I couldn’t help but flush red.

I couldn’t understand… I wanted to leave.

“Come now, sweetie… We’re all family here…”

I nodded weakly, taking Missy’s hand as she led me back into the town. My stance was awkward due to the combination of a pregnant belly and heavy, damp clothes. The air was warm and it felt good on my skin.

I felt my eyes wander; Staring at the thick roots that were binding the town… A deep and powerful feeling turned my stomach and I feel like I was going to be sick. This place was wrong. Everyone was rooted here… Leeching off this area, and being leeched off. I winced as I felt the things in my belly move.

…It felt good…

“I have a stew cooking at home.” Missy chattered lightly as if everything was normal in the world, “Once I get you changed up… We can eat and then we can all celebrate…”

I sat down as Missy picked out various dresses; Celebrate what? I didn’t know. My belly felt heavier and warmer than before. At the same time, my body felt cold and I found myself hugging my belly for warmth. It felt good and safe…

“Your babies, of course.”

Babies…

The word sent a sudden pang into my heart and I found myself blushing and clutching at my belly, harder than before. My babies… My mind felt fuzzy…

“He was very kind to you… He is only kind to a select few… But He was especially kind to you… Your blood must be special for him to give you something so special…”

I nodded dumbly. I still didn’t understand. I didn’t think I ever would but…

Missy sighed, “I suppose Motherhood is going to be a challenge for you… After all, I don’t suppose you planned for it, did you, sweetie?”

I shook my head slowly… Obviously, I hadn’t. I was terrified… Of course, I didn’t need to be…

“Well, don’t you worry. We’re all going to help out.” Missy’s smile was unsettling, “And you’ll see that you won’t have to do much.”

That was good… The soft cloak felt good on my skin and I felt safe…

“Once your ready… you can go meet the other mothers…”

I couldn’t wait to meet my sisters… I massaged my belly. I could feel my babies move.

“They all sit close to Him… Your Husband… Their Husband… In the Grotto…”

Of course… It was only natural…

“And he’ll take care of you… Just as we will… We’ll bring you food and he will protect you… All you need to do is… keep having his children… Feeding them… and sending them out to the world…”

That was all I needed to do…

“You may have been scared before… But don’t be…”

I wasn’t. The roots felt good and strong within my body and womb.

“You don’t have worry anymore…”


End file.
